I read an interesting op ed piece in the NY Times today: "Are We Living in Sensory Overload or Sensory Poverty?" by Diane Ackerman. She writes about noticing, on a walk through the park, that so many people's eyes and ears were glued to their devices and that they were missing so much of the beauty around them. It's a piece worth reading. Here's an excerpt:
"…As an antidote I wish schools would teach the value of cultivating presence. As people complain more and more these days, attention spans are growing shorter, and we’ve begun living in attention blinks. More social than ever before, we’re spending less time alone with our thoughts, and even less relating to other animals and nature. Too often we’re missing in action, brain busy, working or playing indoors, while completely unaware of the world around us. One solution is to spend a few minutes every day just paying close attention to some facet of nature. A bonus is that the process will be refreshing."
In my lectures I try to point out the importance of paying attention to what you see. I find that the things/shapes/colors that make me stop are worth at least of little bit of my time and attention. Even if they never end up in a quilt, what I see informs the quilts that I make. That said, I am also guilty at times of paying attention to my iPhone instead of the actual world around me.
I very much enjoy my digital devices. I use them to stay in contact and to record many of the images that strike my fancy. They are oh so handy! I just have to remind myself that sometimes it's better to look and not record. That said, here are some images that I've captured and have been meaning to post.
On my walk yesterday morning, the colors on this power pole made me stop. I love the mix of blues and whites and browns. Then I looked up.
The pattern of the wires, etc., was really nice. The lack of color, in comparison to the colors on the pole below it, was also interesting.
Farther down the street were these blue utility 'objects.' Isn't the picket fence behind them nice? The fence was completely out of place where it was, but still – nice. I'm pretty sure the colors are what made me stop but I also like the mix of shapes and lines.
I saw several of the circular pipe-like things with dots/holes that I'm guessing are for ventilation of something below ground. I was in Costa Mesa, right next to Newport Beach. I think this shade of blue belongs to one of these cities.
There is something about aqua that I can't seem to get enough of. I'm sure I'll get over it but I don't know when.
This fountain was outside of the the room where I taught class yesterday for the Flying Geese Quilt Guild in Newport Beach. We had a lovely day and the splashing water outside sounded so nice!
The only time I had my camera out was before class and I the only thing I had time to photograph was the fountain. And sure enough, it was the many shades of aqua that drew me in. The fountain looked to be made from some sort of agregate rather than concrete.
I don't usually think of mixing purple with aqua, but isn't this great!
Last for today is the picture I took a few weeks ago showing the front of the library in Kansas City, MO. The whole front of the building was covered in 'books'. It absolutely worked. It made me think of my son, Chris, who loves books more than anyone else I know. So Chris, this one's for you:
Piece O Cake Blog 
Such a lovely set of images Becky and a very timely reminder to look around…no texting while walking…lol!
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What a FAB idea. I would LOVE to have a postcard of this building – but probably one doesnt exist (I collect poscards). Thanx for posting this. I also ADORE books. Have about 3,000 in my library — all types, but mostly non-fiction. Greetings from a Florida bookworm.
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Oh what a very inspiring story. Thank you for sharing. It touches my heart. We should pay attention to the world around us even at some time.
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And! Did you notice that the steps look like books, too? Thanks for posting the library picture, so that I now know about it. I think everyone needs to know about the Kansan City, MO library facade. Kay
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I can’t help but notice you have taken pics of things with interesting shapes and colours- when I was at college our tutor at the time insisted we should always carry a sketch pad, to sketch any interesting things we came across- I inherited my son’s pocket camera, and now it is so easy to take a pic of anything that I have quite a library of both texture colour and shape- of course my inspirations will be different, I’m a jewellery artist, but it is amazing how much creative arts have in common
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My husband and I like to visit the local arboretum. He goes for the exercise; walking briskly around the park a couple times and then he’s ready to leave. I go to see the abundant flowers, and the trees, of course. I find when I take a camera I’m drawn into the flowers much more than if I wander around gazing over the gardens. I think much more intensely about the amazing variety of shapes, colors and textures of the flowers and trees. Because I’m always thinking “composition” I find I look at everything in a different light, which excites me. Mostly I take macro shots, and I end up seeing so much more than I did before I became hooked on photography.
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Thanks Becky for another great post! Looking forward to seeing you in Grand Junction, CO in January.
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I’m always saddened when I see a mother, children in tow (sometimes pushing a stroller) and they are either talking on their phone or texting. So much is missed! And our young ones grow-up to fast. Not to be morbid but sometimes, before I do something, I ask myself if I was laying on my deathbed and looked back at that moment, which activity would make me feel like my life was well-spent? Thanks for this gentle reminder.
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What a timely blog this morning. I think your photography is out-standing, just waiting for a place in a future quilt. This fascination with technology is surely altering the way that people see/live in the the world. I am just not willing to spend too much time with this type of equipment. I prefer the world around me in person. =!=
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Your blog echoed my feelings of late. It seems like I never have a conversation with my children and grandchildren that they aren’t fiddling with their phones. I’ve threatened to collect them at the door! We attended a 70th anniversary this weekend and had a wonderful time with our generation and there wasn’t a cell phone in the bunch. So refreshing!
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Becky, these walk photos are lovely! Are you just taking them with an iphone while you walk, or do you carry a fancy camera?
The book-stack steps are brilliant!
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I mostly used my iPhone. I set it to take HD photos. It works surprisingly well!
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I couldn’t agree with you more! I’m an avid quilter, and support my habit by teaching high school English. I’ve noticed, both in literature and in media, that the concepts you expressed – noticing and enjoying your surroundings versus being absorbed by technology – are competing ideas. I even noticed a large communications company’s ad several years ago – showing people in a park setting, watching movies and tv shows on their devices. Yikes! Where would we be without the inspiration our surroundings and nature provide. Love your inspiration pictures!
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